Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Amile Jefferson to a two-way contract.

Jefferson, 24, has played in 22 games this season for the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves’ NBA G League affiliate, averaging 18.0 points and a league-best 13.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 64.0% from the field. Jefferson, 6-9, has 16 double-doubles on the season, including one in each of his last seven games dating back to Dec. 29. The Duke graduate was recently named to the NBA G League Showcase First Team, averaging 22.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 65.0% from the field over two contests. Jefferson’s best games include a 28-point, 21-rebound performance Jan. 6 at Texas and 29 points, 15 rebounds and six assists Jan. 10 at Canton (G League Showcase).

The Timberwolves originally signed Jefferson to a training camp contract on Sept. 18, 2017. Jefferson appeared in one preseason game for Minnesota, totaling one rebound in 4:15 of action. Jefferson was waived on October 16, 2017.

Two-way contracts allow teams to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular-season roster. Players signed to a two-way contact can accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season and will spend the remainder of their time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate. Jefferson is the second Timberwolves player to sign a two-way contract, joining Anthony Brown.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced the hire of Shawn Parker as the team’s public address announcer. The hire follows an extensive search that drew over 400 interested applicants.

Shawn Parker, a Washington D.C. native, has an extensive sports background and is certified by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers (NASPAA). Shawn was most recently the PA announcer at George Washington University and for the Women’s Football Alliance’s three-time national Champion D.C. Divas. He has also been the hockey voice of the 2015 World Police and Fire Games and the 2016 USA Hockey High School National Championships, as well as has experience as a boxing announcer for several D.C.-based champions including world light middleweight champion, Jarrett “Swift” Hurd.

The Minnesota Timberwolves finalized their 2017-18 Opening Night roster on Saturday, October 14 by waiving Amile Jefferson, Melo Trimble and Shawne Williams.

The Wolves open their 29th season of basketball on Wednesday, October 18 at the San Antonio Spurs at 8:30 pm CT. Opening night will be broadcast on ESPN, Fox Sports North and the radio home of the Wolves, 830 WCCO. The team’s home opener is Friday, October 20 vs. the Utah Jazz.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have exercised the fourth-year options on Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyus Jones.

Towns, 21, averaged 25.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season, starting all 82 games for the second consecutive year. The 7-0 forward/center set a franchise single-season scoring record with 2061 points while recording 1007 rebounds, becoming the youngest player in NBA history (15th overall and first since Tim Duncan in 2001-02) to collect 2000+ points and 1000+ rebounds in a season. In 2016-17 he ranked 12th in the NBA in scoring, 6th in rebounding, 12th in field goal accuracy (54.2%) and 19th in blocked shots (1.26 bpg). The Wolves selected Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Jones, 21, posted averages of 3.5 points and 2.6 assists in 12.9 minutes per contest in 60 games last season, his second in the NBA. The Wolves originally acquired the draft rights to the 6-2 guard from the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 25, 2015.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have waived Amile Jefferson, Melo Trimble and Shawne Williams.

Jefferson appeared in one preseason game for Minnesota totaling one rebound in four minutes of action. The Wolves originally signed Jefferson on September 18, 2017.

Trimble registered four points and one rebound in his lone appearance this preseason. Trimble was originally signed by the Wolves on September 18, 2017.

Williams was signed by Minnesota on October 13, 2017.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed free agent forward Shawne Williams.

Williams, 31, last played in the NBA in 2014-15, averaging 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 63 games for the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons. In eight NBA seasons, the 6-9 forward has career averages of 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in 314 games. Williams was drafted in the first round (17th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He played his first two seasons with the Pacers and has also seen action with the Dallas Mavericks (2008-10), New York Knicks (2010-11), New Jersey Nets (2011-12) and Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13).

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Andrew Wiggins to a multi-year contract extension.

According to the St Paul Pioneer Press, “Wiggins believes he’s worth the five-year extension worth nearly $150 million he signed with the Timberwolves on Wednesday, which comes into play following this season and theoretically keeps him in Minnesota through the 2022-23 campaign. He thinks his play has warranted that type of deal. The people who matter most tend to agree.”

Wiggins, 22, registered a career-high 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 37.2 minutes in 82 games last season, making a career-best 103 three-pointers on a career-high 35.6% shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Wiggins averaged 26.0 points over the final 30 games in 2016-17, including 28.3 ppg in eight April starts. The 6-8 forward registered five 40+ point games a season ago, including a career-best 47-point performance on November 13 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I’m pleased that we’ve reached an agreement with Andrew on a contract extension,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “Andrew is one of the best young players in the NBA and he has the talent and work ethic to get even better and be a foundation for our franchise for many years.”

“I’m very excited to continue my career with the Timberwolves,” said Wiggins. “I love it here. The fans and organization have supported me from my first day here in Minnesota. I want to thank Glen Taylor, Tom Thibodeau, the entire coaching staff and my teammates for believing in me. We’ve had some good times over the last three seasons, but the best is yet to come. I look forward to doing right by them and bringing this team to the postseason.”

For his career, Wiggins has played in 245 of a possible 246 games, averaging 20.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 36.2 minutes per game. Only three players (LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony) scored more points before their 22nd birthday and Wiggins’ 4,995 career point total ranks sixth on the Wolves’ all-time scoring list. Wiggins won the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year following the 2014-15 season in which he averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, becoming the first Wolves player to win Rookie of the Year honors.

“We’re very excited that Andrew has decided to commit his future to the Timberwolves,” said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau. “We feel strongly that he is just scratching the surface of the player he will become. Andrew is among the elite young talents in our league and the sky is the limit for him. We look forward to watching his development in the coming years.”

More from the Pioneer Press: “Wiggins attributed the delay in the deal to the fact he was navigating the final stages of the contract without an agent after he parted ways with his agent, Bill Duffy, in August. Flying solo at the end of the process, Wiggins said he just wanted to take the time to make sure he did things correctly.”

Wiggins was selected first overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and traded to the Wolves on Aug. 23, 2014.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have added to the team’s coaching staff for the 2017-18 season, naming Larry Greer as Advance Scout, John Lucas III as Player Development Coach, Steve Molina as Video Assistant and promoting Sam Newman-Beck to Coaching Associate/Video Scouting Director.

Greer joins Minnesota’s staff as Advance Scout after spending two seasons as the Advance Scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He began his NBA career in Houston, serving as an Advance Scout for two seasons under Jeff Van Gundy (2005-07). Greer worked for Portland from 2007-12, serving as an advance scout for five seasons before working as an assistant coach on Nate McMillan’s staff during the 2011-12 season. His coaching background also involves 17 seasons as an Assistant Coach in the college ranks with stops at Arizona State University (2012-15), Boston University (1994-2003), Brandeis University (1989-92) and Wright State University (2003-05).

Lucas III begins his first season as Player Development Coach after an NBA career that featured stops in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Toronto and Utah. He appeared in 242 games over his nine-year career and averaged 4.7 points and 1.5 assists in 12.1 minutes per game. Lucas played under Coach Thibodeau for two seasons in both Chicago (2010-12) and Houston (2005-07).

Molina joins the Timberwolves after spending two seasons as a Video/Basketball Operations Intern with the Detroit Pistons. Prior to joining the Pistons, Molina interned with the Philadelphia 76ers. A graduate from Marquette University, Molina was a student manager during his four years in Milwaukee.

Newman-Beck is entering his eighth season with the Timberwolves, ninth in the NBA and his first as Coaching Associate/Video Scouting Director. Most recently, Newman-Beck served as Head Video Coordinator for the past two seasons. Before joining the Timberwolves in 2010-11, Newman-Beck worked alongside Coach Thibodeau with the Boston Celtics, serving as a video intern during the team’s 2009-10 run to the NBA Finals.